Succumb (A Severus Snape Fanfiction)

|chapter five|

A/N: This chapter marks the beginning of the changes I've told you all about. I suggest re-reading from here on out if you're a returning reader, as things are going to be different this time around. As always, thank you all so much for your support, and I hope you enjoy this crazy long chapter that I got carried away with!

Screams were all that could be heard as a large house in the distance danced with flames, lighting up the otherwise black skies above, and I felt ashamed of how satisfying it was to hear them. I walked alongside Voldemort, keeping my eyes straight ahead as we walked away from the carnage we had inflicted. They were a middle aged couple, with no children. The husband was a pure blood wizard who came from a powerful family, and his wife a muggle. He had refused to join ranks with Voldemort for obvious reasons, and now he was paying the ultimate price. Tonight he lost both his wife and his life.

I didn't particularly care to do it, as it had hit rather close to home. My parents had lost their lives because they refused Voldemort, and I had just done the same thing to others at his command. The sense that I was betraying them sat heavily within me. I took part in a torture that had probably went quite similarly as theirs. I felt no elation from it, no satisfaction, which was new. Normally the guilt came much later, long after the high wore off, but I found myself struggling to keep my composure as Voldemort walked alongside me.

"You have proven to be quite an asset, Kathryn," Voldemort said, breaking the silence between us.

"Thank you, my lord," I replied, keeping my eyes locked straight head. Bellatrix was up ahead, skipping and twirling along the open field, her laughter now filling the air around her. That bitch was crazy, but I found it quite hard to judge her for it those days. I wasn't much better off, it seemed.

"As I'm sure you know, Severus will be taking the Headmaster position at Hogwarts this semester. Many of our own will be taking up residence there in preparation of the war, and I want you to go with them. We need a healer there that can be trusted, and you have certainly proven your worth lately."

My eyes widened with disbelief. Was this some sort of punishment? To lock me away back at Hogwarts, a castle full of defenseless students, when I was barely stable enough to keep the company of others as it was? Sensing my hesitance, he added, "You will still be needed elsewhere at times. I do not intend to deny your urges."

"If that is what you wish," I replied, his smug tone sickened me. I despised serving him, being regarded as nothing more than a stupid fucking little pet. "Is that all, my lord?"

"Yes. You may go," he answered, almost not quickly enough, for my hand was already wrapped around my wand, and I wasted no time apparating back to my apartment, wanting to spend as little time with The Dark Lord as possible. The first thing I noticed as the living room came into view was Severus' cloak draped across the back of the couch. I smiled to myself and shifted my gaze to the small kitchen, where his back was to me as he used his wand to remove a large pot from the stove.

"Just in time," Severus said, waving his wand toward the cabinet where two bowls floated from and came to a rest on the counter.

"How did you know when I would be home?" I asked as I removed my own cloak and tossed it next to his.

"I actually assumed you would be late, but this is a nice surprise," he replied and kissed me as I came to a stop next to him. As strange as it was for the both of us, this had become a normal occurrence. Until tonight we had both assumed that once the semester began at Hogwarts, we wouldn't see much of each other, and we had made it a priority to spend as much time together as we could until then.

"I actually come bearing news," I said with a troubled smile, still unsure of how I felt about my most recent orders from the Dark Lord. "Voldemort has ordered me to return to Hogwarts when the semester begins."